Bluegrass folk revivalists Joy Kills Sorrow celebrate stripped down acoustic melodies and rich, earthy vocals, while adding an original freshness to their sound. The Boston and Brooklyn-based five piece formed in 2005, finding their sound in the Boston area and soon releasing their self-titled debut. Their current line-up solidified in 2009: singer Emma Beaton’s mellow country noir voice is the absolute star here, but the banjo and mandolin set the overall tone with their rustic quality. The band’s most recent album, “This Unknown Science,” was released in 2011, showcasing a finely tuned melodic bluegrass with somewhat reminiscent of female-led Punch Brothers. Joy Kills Sorrow will be touring the Northeast this fall, including a December 5 appearance at The Rock Shop in NYC and a few show in New England – see here for the full schedule. – Devon Antonetti

If I start telling you about an exciting new artist who’s proposing to add a dose of spirituality to visually-based instrumental music experiments… you’ll promise not to run in the other direction, right? Good, just checking.

Through a series of unlikely collaborations, artist Maria Takeuchi has given New York something we least expected. An insertion of the mysterious and appreciation for spiritual distance in new EP “Doppelgänger.” The record feels like the soundtrack to an unreleased David Fincher film, complete with dense noise-scapes and percussive vocoding. As she’s prone to: Takeuchi creates music for “Doppelgänger” you can see as much as listen to.

So, please don’t be afraid. The music may exist in it’s own world, but it’s a place you’ll want to visit too. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

A not too new project from XXXChange and Devlin (of Devlin and Darko—Spank Rock’s tour DJs), NYC and Boston based electro-pop band Win Win has been gathering a good amount of buzz in 2012, after signing with Vice records. Their sound falls somewhere between MGMT’s catchy pop constructions and Brian Eno’s deadpan experimentation and delivery. Check out their new video of the single "After the Wait" here – also streaming below in mp3 format.

Just like their music, Glass Ghost always seem to be on the verge of percolating out to the mainstream. From a mountain of press commenting on their impressive debut ‘Idol Omen,’ to gracing the cover of the Deli, there’s no shortage of praise for the Brooklyn duo. Eliot Krimsky and Mike Johnson can’t seem to find an instrument that won’t make their music as lush and soulful as a spiritual, with the magic to cut like the diamond mentioned in their biggest song ‘Like a Diamond.’ And hey, if Sharon Van Etten is covering your songs … you really can’t go wrong. The band is playing with two of my favorite local acts (Strand of Oats, Yellow Ostrich) this Wednesday at Bowery Ballroom. See them there and buy tickets here. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Stream: Like A Diamond (via Youtube)

Blues traditionalist, country revivalist, Jon LaDeau is taking Brooklyn to the genres usually reserved for Austin, Chicago and New Orleans. This is a truly down home American style, presented with grit… irony-free. His latest record sticks to these styles with glee as LaDeau’s guitar work shreds like a latter-day Stevie Ray Vaughn. At times, his voice recalls the George Harrison from ‘All Things Must Pass,’ a rocker who still understands the roots of his sound. Tracks like ‘Lucille’ and ‘Grapple’ especially carry with them the railroad grooves of delta blues under jackhammer guitar licks. See him when he plays his ongoing residency at Way Station in Prospect Heights on November 30th. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Back for its third year, Tinderbox Music Festival — entirely composed of female musicians and female-fronted bands — showcased this past Sunday a diverse amount of genres with acts from all over the country playing on 3 separate stages. The event started at 1pm with folkier bands taking the stage in the morning, including a stand out performance by NYC  Jamie Bendell (pictured and streaming), whose beautifully raw and innocent voice blended perfectly with catchy acoustic guitar riffs and a grittier sound from the back-up electric guitarist. Other standouts of the day included: Hello Phones, the powerful and punky ohian group Jasper the Colossal, the endearing and talented Mal Blum backed by drummer and guitarist, and one of the last bands of the day, the wonderfully energetic Charlene Kaye and the Brilliant Eyes. The headliner, Coco Rosie, ended the night with an emotional and experimental set that had the audience entranced. For more information on the festival or the musicians involved, go here. – Chelsea Eriksen – Photo credit: Maxime Lemoine

Photo Source: Tokyoidaho

Tokyoidaho are gearing up for a weekend gig at The Comet Tavern on Saturday the 17th. Soft Hills and Kingdom of the Holy Sun are on the lineup too, with Boat headlining.

This trio’s (plus live member Projectorhead bringing the visual oomph) last release was the September full-length Tokyoidaho. Take vocals a little reminiscent of Trent Reznor, throw them in a capsule with haunting guitarwork, rolling drums, and pulsing synths, and one may begin to grip the band’s sonic protocol. But only barely.

Opener "Other Places, Other Places" navigates some seriously celestial terrain with its stargazing shoegaze. Warped sounds ebb and flow like a form of echo location as the beat stays steady with ghost-hits to spare.

"Oberheim Sunshine," contrary to its title, presents a darker vista than some of the tracks. The synth-work features more prominently. The singing is earnest and dramatic, revealing uncertainty about the days and nights to come. The song is neither sugar-sweet light or disturbingly morose, occupying a middleground content with curious exploration.

Their experimentation with shoegaze/pop/alternative rock spins routine categorizations through the blender. What plops out on the other end is not found in nature, certaintly. But neither does the music hail exclusively from the deep regions of space. Tokyoidaho’s ability to bridge melody and weird aural delights deserves notice.

Check them out live on the 17th of November at The Comet. Tickets cost $8 apiece and the doors are at 8:30pm. Listen to "Oberheim Sunshine" and visit their bandcamp to stream their self-titled record and pick up a physical copy.

– Cameron LaFlam

The emergent Brooklyn sound in the aftermath era of lo-fi electro from successful acts such as Small Black and Violens seems to be bigger, bolder, more anthemic choruses. "Modern Tongues," the debut EP by Ghost Beach, goes one further, blurring the lines between disparate genres like yacht rock, electro-funk and (amazingly) boy band rubbish. The appropriately-titled EP starts out with “Miracle,” whose chiming guitar licks recall the Smiths, until singer Josh Laviolette unleashes a riotous chorus worthy of Rivers Cuomo’s most throat-shedding vocals. “Tear Us Apart,” the lead single from Modern Tongues, shimmers like Simple Minds at their medieval peak, layered over an industrial backbeat that feels defiantly current, despite its retro proclivities. “Been There Before” (streaming) is the EP’s best moment, a song of such joy and pathos that it’s destined to send live crowds through the roof. Clocking in at just under 22 minutes (five songs), I found myself running to start the whole EP over, as my living room crowd was having far too much fun to switch to something new just yet. To join the party see the band live at The Music Hall of Williamsburg on December 08. – Brian Chidester

Traveling peripatetically in his records almost as often as he moves to new locations, Sam Friend stumbles his way from genre to genre in the hope of achieving what might be called a quasi-emotional honky-tonk bliss. Like confessional rockers before him (think: Matthew Sweet or John McCauley), Sam Friend winds his songs up like a frustrated yo-yo, exploding into his tunes when his pent-up energy gets to be too wild.

A lot of his music has the feel of country-western saloon jams that have recently become acquainted with basement rock. Songs like ‘Bedlam’ and ‘High Hives’ from Sam’s new EP sampler ‘Spirit Mirrir’ push and shove against beer-soaked arrangements (including a handsomely dressed version of ‘On A Plain’) and surprising collaborators. Truly a trip worth taking.

For this artist who discovers some new trail to go down with each record, ‘Mirrir’ might be his biggest departure yet. Check it out on his bandcamp and see him when he plays next with his band The Freckles. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets) – This artist submitted music for review here

Neo-No Wave band TV Baby continue their onslaught of metal machine music with the summer 2012 single “New York Is Alright.” The duo (Matthew McAuley and Brain McPeck of downtown noise act A.R.E. Weapons) send up the city’s cultural (read: pretentious) aspirations with astute lyrics like: “New York is alright if you’re 12 years old sittin’ in your bedroom all alone at home dreaming about being Lou Reed or James Chance, doin’ some brand new 21st Century dance across the skyline of Manhattan where anything can happen.” TV Baby had a chance to play with Chance (a.k.a James White) at Don Hill’s (511 Greenwich Street) last year in support of their self-titled debut EP, itself a wild if derivative ode to No Wave pioneers like Suicide and the Bush Tetras. The duo’s squelching guitars and grimey synth sound took on ironic material by Bo Diddley, Little Richard and an echoey version of Chuck Berry’s “Mabelline” that was slowed down to reach maximum sensuality. Three years along, TV Baby have yet to transcend their obvious influences, but this latest single should be enough to keep interested parties, well, um, interested. – Brian Chidester

A few days before I started writing this article, I learned of a serious fight involving NYC drummer Kevin Shea and the son of the owner/talent buyer of an East Village venue, iconic for its historical interest in avant jazz and experimental music. The owner wanted the musicians to pay her $50 bucks since no one came to hear them. The owner’s son punched Kevin in his left eye when he refused. The musicians chased him into Tompkins Square Park. Read Valerie Kuhne’s essay ‘The Sporting Life: Being Experimental in NYC’ here.

Brooklyn, NY’s Call of the Wild is an unhinged rock ‘n roll trio that plays from the heart and goes for the throat on their eight-track endeavor LEAVE YOUR LEATHER ON. When corresponding with guitarist/vocalist Johnny Coolati, we spoke about the origins of their band’s name, what makes them a must-see act in the NYC scene, and the process of making their debut recording. Having kicked off a US tour last week, the band will be off the roads November 21st – stay tuned for new local dates & read Mike SOS’ interview with the band here.

Stream ‘Autobahn’, off ‘Leave Your Leather On’ here.